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After reuniting with what remains of Starfleet and the Federation, the USS Discovery and its crew must prove that a 930 year old crew and starship are exactly what this new future needs. It’s either that or “Die Trying”. The latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery is a strange bird: it seems to want to turn our heroes into villains and show us that the Discovery is a ship full of misfits, but then backs down in the last few minutes. It seems to be a show at war with itself and its perception of its lead character. But, on the positive side, it also works in a way that the previous episodes of this season have not. Is the show righting itself or was this a fluke?
Burnham and the crew of the USS Discovery find their way to Starfleet headquarters of the 32nd century. It’s a small spot in space protected by a semi-successful cloaking field. Once inside the cloak, the crew are treated to the view of several updated starships. The naming conventions of the 32nd century have not changed, so we get a lot of familiar names with a “J” on the end of it. We also get some cute names like the “USS Nog“!
Saru, Adira and Burnham are beamed aboard the HQ and meet Charles Vance, the leader of the remains of Starfleet. Vance seems competant but has understandable doubt about the origin story of the USS Discovery. When the Discovery jumped ahead in time, all records of its existence were deleted. As such, the future has no record of the Discovery. But that doesn’t stop Burnham from yelling at him and demanding to be allowed to do things. He better let her, or she’ll “Die Trying”.
It’s revealed that a disease has infected several aliens at the station. The key to the sickness is finding a “seed ship” which is carrying the potential herbal remedy. The Discovery uses its Spore Drive to jump to the last known location of the ship, where they find it inside an ion storm.
Burnham, Culber and Nahn beam aboard the ship and discover that its caretaker family has mostly died – only the father remains. He is guilt stricken and “phasing” out of existence. After Culber convinces Burnham to talk to the father to relieve his guilt (sure…), Nahn decides to remain behind with the ship to complete its mission and return to her homeworld. It’s basically the Airiam story except no one dies. Except for the kids in the family.
Back at the HQ, Burnham and Saru lecture Vance about how the Discovery is the beacon of hope everyone needs.
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Die Trying” and the sweet relief of finally finding the Federation. Plus! The guys talk about the incoherence of Michael Burnham, Culber abdicating his responsibility, and the fact that the Federation seems unimpressed by the Spore Drive.